Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Kickstart the Week with RED WINTER #1 - A Crime/Noir Comic Book Tale

By: Nicole D’Andria

This time
we’re showcasing a crime/noir comic book that takes place in the Russian
criminal underworld. The beginning of a four issue mini-series, Red Winter is made to appeal to fans of comic
book scribes like Jason Aaron and Ed Brubaker, as well as prose writers like
Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly and Charlie Huston.

Red Winter begins with Eli Winter, a former NYPD
Detective living in Moscow who’s now working for local crime boss Nikolai
Dubrovsky as a fixer/bag man/enforcer. He’s looking into the destruction of one
of Dubrovsky’s meth labs, which led to the death of several of his men and the loss
of his product. But when Eli finds out the person behind the murders was his
son Joseph, he needs to protect his son from an entire gang out for revenge.

The goal
of the project was to reach $949 and it already has more than double its initial
goal. The project will end on June 1, 2018 at 5:01 AM EDT. Rewards include digital
(about $2.71) and physical (about $7) copies of Red Winter #1 as well as posters (about $13). You can check out the
rest of their rewards on their Kickstarter page.

Michael Gordon

Me: You’ve mentioned that fans of Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jason Aaron and
Frank Miller will enjoy this story. What about Red Winter harkens back
to stories these creators have written and how would you say your story is
unique from all of them?

Gordon: I've always loved the crime genre, in comics
and in film and in prose. It's probably my favourite genre, and Red Winter is my comic book love letter
to all the great crime fiction I've read over the years. Red Winter features bad people making bad decisions, but also has
an underlying element of pathos to it that I feel the best crime stories have.
Comics like Criminal and Kill Or Be Killed by Brubaker/Phillips
are big touchstones for me, as are Scalped, 100 Bullets, Batman:
Year One and Sin City. I love how those stories give you morally
complex characters in situations that beg the question “What would you do?” Would
you do the right thing and risk getting killed for it? Or would you do the
wrong thing and end up six feet under just as quick?

I would
say Red Winter is unique from those
stories because of the character of Eli Winter and the setting of Kapotnya. At
its core, it is a crime noir story and deals with some similar tropes (like all
crime tales), but Eli and his potentially ill-fated journey towards redemption
make it stand out.

Me: What can you tell us about Eli and Joseph Winter and how their
relationship will affect the story?

Gordon: Eli and his son Joseph barely have any
relationship to speak of when the story starts. Hell, Joseph's real name is Eli
Jr, but he refuses to be called that because he hates his father so much! You
could say that they are estranged, but that maybe indicates that they had some
sort of close relationship before having a falling out, whereas I've tried to
hint in the book that Eli has been such a bad parent/person that Joseph has no
relationship with him at all. It's why it's such a surprise when Joseph turns
up needing his dad's help; they haven't even spoken in years. It also gives an
extra element of sadness to the fact that Eli then decides to protect his son
in a misguided attempt at redemption; maybe he thinks one final act of good
towards his son can erase years of neglect?

Red Winter #1 Page 1

Me: Why did you decide to set the story in Moscow versus anywhere else and
how will the setting play a role in Red Winter?

Gordon: The setting of Kapotnya, the most crime-ridden
district of Moscow, is integral to the story. I decided to set the story there
because, when I was formulating the character of Eli Winter, I knew I wanted to
put him somewhere completely alien to him. Somewhere that he would hate with
every fiber of his being, but knew he couldn't leave because of the bad
decisions he'd made in his life. It means Eli bumps up against everything; he
hates the food, he hates how cold it is, he hates that he struggles to speak
the language. Put all of that on top of the fact that he hates working for
Dubrovsky and it makes for a super interesting (and extremely grumpy)
character!

I was
also aware, to a certain extent, of the organized crime element in Russia as I
had watched a few documentaries on the subject and read some books/articles. It
then became pretty obvious to me that this disgraced New York cop being forced
to live in the most dangerous part of Russia was a story vein I really wanted
to tap!

Red Winter #1 Page 2

Me: Did you have to do any research on the area when writing about it? What
was the most interesting thing you learned about it?

Gordon: Oh yes! I did quite a bit of research on
Kapotnya when I was putting the series together. Sometimes it can be easy to
fall down a research rabbit hole, especially when the subject is so
interesting, but I found after a few weeks of internet research I had enough
that I could pepper throughout the story to add colour to the world Eli
operates in.

Both of
the most interesting things I found out will play big roles in the story as it
develops in #2 and beyond, and one of them is mentioned in #1: how a huge
colony of homeless people live under the superheated pipes beneath the Moscow
Oil Refinery. Eli relates to them, because it's the only place they can
survive, but living there is making them sicker every day.

I also
found out about a drug named “Krokodil,” which is a homemade heroin substitute
that was rife in poor areas. It was given the nickname krokodil (or “crocodile”)
because its poisonous effects turned the skin of addicts scaly! This drug and its
users will come into play as the story develops, for sure.

Red Winter #1 Page 3

Me: You've already reached your goal on Kickstarter. What do you plan to do
with the extra money earned during the campaign? Are there any stretch goals
planned?

Gordon: Any extra money earned from the campaign will
go towards funding #2! Francisco, Rolands and Nikki put so much time and effort
into the #1 pages and they'll do that again for future issues, so having funds
available to properly remunerate them for their work is very important. Indie comics
are hard, so having a pot of cash available always helps!

I am
planning to announce a Stretch Goal sometime in the middle of the campaign. I'm
still sorting out the finer details at the moment!

Red Winter #1 Page 4

Me: What is the number one reason you think people should pledge money to
your Kickstarter?

Gordon: The number one reason is because it's a good
comic book that will entertain readers. I believe Eli Winter is a very
interesting character, filled with remorse, self-loathing and misguided notions
of redemption, and he's been a blast to write. The relationships between Eli
and his son Joseph, as well as Eli and Dubrovsky, will go to unexpected places
that will surprise the reader. The setting of the story is also interesting,
and I plan to explore the city of Kapotnya more in future issues; it really is
as much of a character in the story as any of the human characters. And the art
team have produced a really great issue that I believe could sit on a shelf
next to other top quality crime books and not look out of place. I'm very proud
of it.

But maybe
don't take my word for it. How about an endorsement from Ryan K. Lindsay,
writer of Eternal and Beautiful Canvas at Black Mask Studios
and Negative Space at Dark Horse
Comics:

Me: What inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book writers?

Gordon: Don't be afraid to give anything a go. If you
want to be a writer, then write. Everything I've done has been building blocks
on top of building blocks; nothing comes at once, and it'll probably be a long
road. But if you're too afraid to try, or afraid to fail, then you'll never
give it a go and find out whether you could make it work or not. I've still got
a long way to go until I get where I want to be, but I'm having the time of my
life at the moment and it's all because I decided to commit to it and give it a
go!

Me: Thank you for taking the time to answer my
questions! If you’re reading this and want to check out the criminal underworld of Russia, you can check out the Red Winter Kickstarter here.

Do you
have a Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project featured
on "Kickstart the Week?" Let me know in the comments below or message
me on my website.